Tune your machines to perfection, Install jointer knives flawlessly

I’ve been reviewing some of my favorite Harbor Freight gems and this is the latest: The Cen-Tech 623 Dial Indicator.

I’ve wanted a machinist dial gauge for a while, they’re fantastic for fine tuning your workshop machines, adding super precision to jigs, even easily and accurately installing jointer knives. But they are usually pricey in my opinion, especially when you add the stand. But Harbor Freight has come through again!

First of all, if you check it out on the web, it shows a photo of the dial and the stand together. THIS IS NOT HOW THEY ARE SOLD! You have to buy them separately. But I got the pair on sale in the store for about $25.

First, the gauge: It’s well made for the price. Not perfect, but I took it apart for the sake of doing a good review and inside I found nice brass parts, no plastic. That means it will wear well and stand up to less than ideal conditions. It has two dials, one measures in the thousandths and the other keeps track of how many times the needle makes a full revolution around the dial for larger measurements. It works smoothly and is very accurate.

Now, the stand: This is a MUST because it holds the dial securely for various measurements. It excels at mounting jointer knives, especially when you sharpen them by hand and need to make sure the edges, which may be different on each knife, are perfectly even. I saw a video of how to do it online, don’t remember where- google it!

The stand fastens to any cast iron surface with a surprisingly powerful magnet that you turn on and off with a switch. I’m already thinking about how I could use this magnet for a band saw fence or table saw feather board like the much more expensive ones they sell at woodcraft!

To use the gauge to set your table saw blade parallel to the miter slots you’ll need to make a separate holder, but it’s a simple enough thing to build.

Over all, at $25, this is a STEAL and there’s more uses for it in a shop than you can imagine!

Great review. We caught the base and dial indicator on sale at HF a few months ago and are very pleased with how well they work. We use ours for something several times a week. We are building a small right angle fixture to slide in the TS miter slot to check blade alignment.

I agree! I have their dial indicator + the magnetic stand. I’ve already made a coupla jigs to use them (one for the dial indicator alone to measure blade alignment on the table saw, done; another to align blades on the jointer – still working on it, but jointer is not refurbished yet; used both to measure run-out on drill press). Not sure even China could screw this up.

I took the dial indicator apart (needed to change the orientation of the mounting) and it is a precision piece of equipment. The magnetic base – what the hell can you say; it’s simple and they didn’t screw it up!

Highly recommended!

Here’s a hot tip; check the web-site for prices, print out the web-page and take it with you to the store; saved me $5 on each unit.

I picked one of these up today at a local HF store (just the base). I got it home and gave a turn on one of the thumb screws and the threads were stripped. I headed back later in the day and exchanged it for a new one which seems fine. It was marked $15 on the shelf but came up as $10, I guess it was on sale. This store is hit-or-miss but you can find bargains if you look.

I’ve had these for over a year now and have been very happy. i work in aerospace and can definitely tell the difference in the precision verse a $500+ indicator, but, I’m not interested in getting my jointer knives to .0001”.

Does anyone have a good cheap option for a button tip? I don’t want to spend the money for the nice ones from McMaster etc.

Jim: I have the set up like you have and love it.I also bought a couple of extra “arms” on sale. Took the magnets off and installed them in feather boards. They work well on my bandsaw and my tablesaw. Lots cheaper than “store bought”

GarageWoodworks Just watched your video on setting your TS blade to 90. I have a dial indicator so I guess it’s time to make that jig. Great video and I am definitely going to check out your others. Thanks for all the info.

Excellent review. Thanks a lot for posting it. I’ve been eye balling that dial indicator at HF for months, but I was worried about the quality since HF is so hit or miss. I think I’ll pick one up next time I go.